Posted on 02/02/2007 1:57:03 PM PST by TheDon
COSTA MESA – Immigration checks here have led to likely deportation for people suspected of a wide range of offenses, from robbery to drug possession to jaywalking, a detailed accounting of the 2-month-old program shows.
Costa Mesa police recently released arrest records they say include all people detained for immigration violations since a federal agent began staffing the city jail Dec. 4.
In January, 58 of about 470 people arrested were flagged. That's up from 46 of about 400 arrested in December.
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Dozens of suspected felons, whose alleged crimes include selling narcotics or stealing cars, have been arrested as well. But even before the federal agent arrived, felons often faced immigration checks once transferred out of the city jail.
At the same time, many cases involved more serious misdemeanors that, without the federal agent, might not lead to deportation. Those offenses include assault, hit and run and disorderly conduct.
Mayor Allan Mansoor said he is "very grateful and fully supportive of what (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is doing."
"The ultimate impact is going to be that crime is going to continue to go down," he said.
Overall, 44 cases involved felonies, 57 involved misdemeanors and three were solely for infractions.
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(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
ping
It hard to comprehend the level of arrogance and dysfunctional government in Washington that permits this travesty upon America to continue UNABATED.
This city is leading the way. A gutsy Mayor was just re-elected, on the basis of pushing this immigration activity.
If your local political figures had guts, this could be done nearly everywhere.
If the police have an encounter with an individual, they check immigration status. They are NOT randomly stopping people that simply have characteristics of immigrants.
Therefore, this will identify illegal immigrants from Mexico and Bosnia alike. (contrary to popular belief, in SoCal we have all types)
Up from? Not much. 58 of 470 is 12.3 percent versus 11.5 percent. Three more in December would have made it the same percentage, as would a slight reduction in that "about 400" figure. Kind of interesting that we're given precise figures on everything except the one number that'd blow the reporter's argument, huh?
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